Whew, okay, massive lore-dump for the character origin out of the way, now we move onto the nitty-gritty, namely, how exactly did Kuroto wind up getting a blowjob from Raynare in Kuoh town, and why the hell didn't he save Issei?
Well, hopefully this next chapter should answer some, if not all of those questions, before we get back to the matter, and blowjob, at hand.
And yes, for those deviants out there, the longer it takes for me to get chapters out, the longer Raynare is going to be 'paying the toll' to keep the reaper at bay, so if you want to save her from her fate, leave a review! preferably one with constructive comments.
Or don't. Lord knows Kuroto isn't going to complain about a month-long blow job from a hot chick whose whole body is canonically an erogenous zone. No seriously, that is apparently a thing for Fallen Angels.
For those interested: As stated, some of my old stories are on hiatus, some are just straight up dead & some are being reworked. If you care to adopt one, please just send me a PM to let me know so people don't start spamming me with 'some guy stole your fic' reviews.
Chapter 2: Ninja x Transfer.
To the uninitiated, Gosha Academy could have easily passed for your typical Japanese High School, albeit one that enjoyed the benefits of the Japanese Government's (limited) discretionary spending, meaning everything from the classrooms to the facilities was considered top of the line by modern standards.
It was only when you looked beneath the surface, as a true shinobi should, that the true face of the Academy revealed itself, for where the clans had once stood divided during the feudal age, in the modern age this underground facility served as the nerve-centre for all Taimanin Activity in Gosha village.
Much like on the surface, everything in the underground HQ was considered top of the line, but unlike the surface facilities, everything down here had military applications, whether it was the medical research facilities or the state-of-the-art training facilities, including an Honest-to-Haruhi Danger Room.
'Our tax-dollars at work.' I mused, whistling appreciatively as I glanced into one of the training halls, where one of my seniors was busy dodging lasers whilst simultaneously striking at specific panels that were lighting up in a random pattern, her skin-tight shinobi bodysuit perfectly accentuating her curves in all the right places whilst providing protection from most mundane fire-arms 'Section 3 is certainly getting their money's worth.'
"Hm? Ah! Kuro-nii! Hebi-chan!" a cheerful voice called out, the speaker, a younger girl with strawberry-blonde hair, waving excitedly as she stepped out of one of the training facilities, heedless of how doing so caused her breasts to bounce in her gym clothes "You here to train? Want me to spot you?"
"As tempting as that sounds, I'm afraid I'll have to take a rain-check." I countered, not even bothering to pretend I wasn't watching her chesticles bounce as she practically skipped towards me, gods only knew the girl wasn't trying to hide them "Got called in to see old man Yama."
"What mischief have you gotten up to now?" another voice groused, the speaker a tall, blue-haired teen dressed in a white leotard who was eyeing me like yesterday's garbage as she slowly finished of a set of dead-lifts with weights larger than she was tall "Can't you go one day without causing problems, Fuuma Kuroto?"
"That's not fair, Mu-chan!" the blonde countered, pouting petulantly at the newcomer with her hands on her hips, only to be ignored as the older teen calmly finished her reps, the ground shaking as she calmly set the massive weights aside "Don't go pinning all the blame on Kuro-nii when it's Baka-Gaiza and his gang causing trouble!"
"How many times do I have to remind you to call me 'President' when we're at school?" Mu-chan growled, though it was clear from the lack of heat in her glare that she wasn't really angry at the younger girl "And besides, as the Clan head it's only natural he be blamed for his subordinates' indiscretions."
"Maybe I just let him run free so that I have a reason to talk to you, Prez." I countered, smirking up at the older girl coyly, knowing full-well how much she hated it when I spoke to her like this "After all, if it weren't for your disciplinary lectures, I'd never get to see you at all. It's almost as if you're purposefully trying to avoid me."
"That's Miss President to you, Fuuma Kuroto." Mu-chan shot back stiffly, her eyes narrowing as Hebiko and the strawberry blonde tittered at her flustered expression before turning on her heel and storming off in a huff "And I've better things to be doing than wasting time talking to you!"
"Mou-! Mu-chan, wait up!" Berry-blonde called out, only to sigh in disappointment as our white-clad sempai vanished around a corner "Sorry about that Kuro-nii," she apologised, gripping her arm with a downcast expression "I keep telling Mu-chan that she needs to lighten up but..."
"She still blames me for Asagi leaving." I finished, smiling as I reached out to ruffle her head of strawberry blonde hair reassuringly "It's alright, Sakura. I'm used to everyone looking down on me, at least Murasaki has an actual reason for it."
"That stupid promise..." Sakura sighed, her breasts bouncing and her shoulders slumping dramatically as she facepalmed, looking torn between embarrassment and exasperation at the memory "Honestly, what was Onee-chan thinking, saying something like that?"
"To be fair, it is just the kind of thing Asagi would demand of her future spouse." I reminded her with a wry smile as i ruffled her hair "Even when we were little, she had to be the very best at everything, so it's no wonder Murasaki took her at her word."
"It's still stupid." Sakura giggled, her earlier discomfort seemingly forgotten, replaced with a whimsical smile as she thought back to those days when things were a lot simpler, though hardly innocent given the oft-times twisted nature of Shinobi Upbringing.
As the daughter of one of the Igawa Clan's retainers, it could be argued that Yatsu Murasaki was one of my few detractors who had a legitimate reason to despise the Fuuma Clan. However, her hatred of me had little to do with Danjo's failed Coup, and everything to do with Sakura's older sister, Asagi.
Born the daughters of the Igawa clan head, Sakura and Asagi were naturally included amongst my small circle of friends, Sakura even going so far as to adopt me as an older-brother figure due in part to how much I used to spoil her, but mainly due to how much her father ignored her.
Don't get me wrong, Igawa Syuzen never abused her. Sure, his wife may have died giving birth to Sakura, but it's not like he blamed her for it. No, the reason he spent so little time with his youngest daughter was because he was so focussed on his heir's development.
You see, while most of my, admittedly small, circle of friends were considered defects or 'broken' in some shape or form, Igawa Asagi was a prodigy whose natural talent and prodigious rate of growth (in more ways than one) led many to claim she was destined to become the strongest Taimanin in modern history.
A sentiment I agreed with full-heartedly, having had the distinct 'pleasure' of experiencing her talents first-hand (stop it) whenever we would 'play spar', which pretty much became an excuse for her to lord her superiority over her would-be peers.
Not that she needed a reason to boast, mind you, given how she was already training with full-grown, Active Taimanin while the rest of us had yet to begin proper training, but unfortunately, as was often the case with prodigies, all that praise had turned Asagi into an arrogant little brat.
In all honesty the only thing bigger than her ego was her competitive streak. Beat her at something, regardless of how inane it might be, and Asagi would hound you with 'rematches' until she legitimately beat you, refusing to accept victory by default or surrender. It was literally her way or the highway.
How does this tie in to Murasaki hating my guts? Well like most of my problems it all stems back to Dear Old Dad, for while Danjo was undoubtedly a bastard, he was at the very least a magnificent one, as is to be expected of the man who reigned over the ruling clan of Gosha.
For you see, while the man had many, many, MANY faults, like any respectable clan head Danjo was always looking towards the future of the clan, more specifically, what he could do to ensure he retained control over it, and by proxy, Gosha village.
To this end, he would often keep an eye out for anything that might affect the clan's influence, whether it be a piece of information, some new technology, or in the case of Asagi, potential breeding stock to ensure a strong line of succession.
Now as some of you may have guessed, the Fuuma respect talent and strength, hence why the likes of Hebiko and myself were deemed 'failures' to be mocked. And for all his faults, Danjo possessed a keen eye for talent, though even a blind man could tell Asagi was the cream of the upcoming generation of Taimanin.
Needless to say, it didn't take long for him to abuse his position as Clan Head to arrange a meeting with Syuzen to discuss an engagement between us, something that Asagi didn't respond to particularly well, the little Hellion challenging me to a match where she soundly put me on my ass for all to see.
Not content with simply humiliating me, she then proceeded to declare that she would only marry someone who could defeat her in combat, before stalking off. It wasn't until later that Sakura would confide in me that she had only done so because she didn't like the idea of being forced to marry anyone.
As soothing as it was to learn that Asagi didn't actually hate my guts enough to turn violent at the idea of an arranged marriage, her declaration soon spread throughout the village, eventually reaching the ears of Murasaki, who even as a child had harboured a raging girl-boner for the Igawa heiress.
Ever since that day Murasaki had dedicated herself to defeating Asagi in honourable combat, coming to see me as something of a rival due to the attempted engagement, despite both Sakura and myself trying to clear up the confusion since Asagi could apparently care less.
Sadly, as was turning out to be a trend, Danjo's actions would once again come back to bite me in the ass, for it didn't take long after the failed coup for Asagi to abandon Gosha village with the intent to track down Dear-Old-Dad in order to avenge her father's murder in the most gruesome way possible.
Now, as much as I wished Asagi luck in her endeavours, her absence meant that Murasaki would never get the chance to challenge the elder Igawa sister for her hand, and since she couldn't get back at Danjo directly, it didn't take long for Murasaki to turn her ire towards the rest of the Fuuma, myself in particular.
Now make no mistake, despite her murder-boner for Danjo, it's not like she went out of her way to abuse the Fuuma, something she could have easily done with her position as Student Council President. However, she always made a point to crack down harder on the Fuuma than any other clan, myself in particular.
"Hey, you mind if I swing by your place after school?" Sakura asked, smiling cutely up at me with her hands clasped behind her back "There's this big test coming up soon and I really need help with my maths homework."
"And I suppose it has nothing to do with wanting to play that new game you pre-ordered." I quipped, shaking my head with a smile as she chuckled at being caught out "I'll let Toki-nee know your coming, but we'll need to finish your homework first."
"Yay! You're the best Kuro-nii!" Sakura cheered, the bubbly blonde proceeding to glomp me, allowing me to savour the feeling of her boobs crushed against my chest as she planted as kiss on my cheek "I'll see you later! Say hi to Yama-ji for me!"
"Only you could get away with calling him that." I chuckled, waving fondly as I watched her bubbly butt run off to her next class before turning my attention to the pouting octopus that was lurking behind me "Something bothering you, Hebiko?"
"Mou-! You're such a perv, Kuro-chan." The adorable tentacle fiend huffed, trying to come off as reprimanding, only to fail dismally, as she was simply too cute "And you really shouldn't spoil her like that! Tokiko-sensei will get mad if you spend all night playing video-games again!"
"I don't think the walking Tentacle Hentai has any right to call anyone else a pervert." I countered with a coy smirk, shaking my head as the girl flushed at the, admittedly not far-off, description of her abilities "Besides, Sakura's been coming over to my place for so long she's practically got her own room."
"I still don't like it." Hebiko pouted, looking down at the ground whilst gripping the hem of her skirt, the concern in her eyes palpable "You know what her family is like," she reminded me solemnly "what if they're using her to spy on you?"
"You really think Tokiko and Amane would miss something like that?" I countered, shaking my head at the very idea of Sakura being sent to spy on me "Besides, I've known Sakura since she was in diapers. Even if she was sent to spy on me, she'd have spilled the beans within minutes out of guilt."
Left unsaid was the fact I was fully aware the Igawa were keeping tabs on me. After all, even if I betrayed him, I was still Danjo's heir and they'd made it more than clear that were it not for the direct intervention of Section 3, they'd have happily purged the entire Fuuma clan following the coup.
Thankfully, whatever bitterness they may have felt towards me hadn't been passed down to Sakura, who actually spent most of her free time at my house than her own for reasons she wouldn't clarify but I suspected had everything to do with her aunt, Senshu, who was the current Clan Head...at least on paper.
"If you say so." Hebiko sighed, only to jolt as she glanced up at the time on the clock on the overhead leader-board, before swiftly grabbing me by the arm and dragging me towards a nearby elevator "Come on, we need to get moving, we're already late!"
"If we're already late then running now won't do us any favours." I reminded her, though I made a point to keep up, having learnt from experience that Hebiko wasn't above using her transformation to deal with troublemakers and I had no desire to be trapped in an elevator suspended by tentacles...again.
Gosha Academy Principal's Office...
"Sorry we're late!" Hebiko yelled as we burst through the door to the principal's office, the poor girl finally letting go of my arm as she doubled over to catch her breath "I brought him just like you asked, Tokiko-sensei!"
"Good job, Hebiko-chan." Tokiko applauded, smiling encouragingly at the panting Octopus, completely unphased by our abrupt entrance, before turning to regard me with a knowing smile "Nice of you to finally join us, Kuroto-kun."
"Yo, Toki-nee." I greeted cheekily, confident in my safety from any physical retaliation due to having strategically placed Hebiko between us "I'd have been here sooner, but Gaiza and his boyfriends wanted to have a word."
"How many times do I have to remind you to call me 'Sensei' when we're at school?" Tokiko sighed, shaking her head in resigned exasperation in the face of my unrepentant shit-eating grin "And you mentioned Gaiza-kun? He didn't try to start another fight did he?"
"Surprisingly no." I confessed with a shrug, honestly surprised that Gaiza hadn't taken a swing at me "Not for lack of trying on his flunkies' part though." I added, before thumbing in the direction of Hebiko "I reckon he only backed down because he spied Tako-chan lurking in the background."
"And here I was hoping you two had finally managed to patch things up." Tokiko sighed, ignoring the pouting Hebiko in favour of flashing back to the good old days when Crybaby Gaiza was practically glued to my hip "You two used to be such good friends."
My elder half-sister, born from one of Danjo's many mistresses that were later sold into slavery, Tokiko was adopted into the house of the Fuuma Clan's Stewards and essentially raised from birth to serve the clan heir despite being one of Danjo's children herself.
Since the moment of my birth, she had been protecting me from the shadows despite being only eight years old herself, though the two of us would never officially meet until I turned three, where I was officially declared Danjo's heir and she was permanently assigned to me as my 'Guardian'.
One would question the sanity of entrusting the life of the clan heir to an eleven-year-old, but thankfully, unlike my talentless self, Tokiko quickly proved herself to be exceptionally skilled at a young age, earning a reputation as the clan's strongest Kunai user and master of close-quarters-combat.
And yet, despite acknowledging her skill, often sending her out on missions, both Solo and as support for other Clansmen, Danjo never once treated her as his child, only as another expendable tool that he could use to maintain his supposedly iron-clad rule over the Clan & Gosha Village.
As such, given how starved for affection she was, it didn't take much effort for me to turn her against the old man.
Don't look at me like that, all I did was treat her like a human being, the two of us slowly bonding over time despite her faltering insistence on remaining aloof in order to better serve as my protector.
Then, on the year I turned eleven, one year before the attempted coup, Danjo went too far. The old bastard, having apparently gotten it into his head that having his failure of a son experience the pleasures of a woman's touch would motivate me to succeed, ordered Tokiko to give herself to me.
Now don't get me wrong, modern sensibilities aside, this wasn't something that was looked down upon in Taimanin society. Hell, for Clan heirs such as myself, it was actually considered part of their training for older, more experienced members of the clan to be the ones to instruct them.
And it wasn't as if Tokiko was unwilling, if anything, she seemed almost too-eager to offer herself to me, as if by carrying out this order she was in some way being simultaneously acknowledged and rewarded by Danjo for the first time since her birth.
However, while I held no personal qualms against laying with Tokiko, I refused out of general principle, citing that I would not allow her to demean herself on Danjo's orders any longer. She was my sister, my guardian, and so long as I drew breath, only she got to decide who she gave her body to.
And in that moment, whatever loyalty Tokiko had towards Danjo was forever shattered, and we spent the night in each others arms, not as man and woman, but as a younger brother comforting his crying older sister as she finally broke down after receiving the love and affection she'd been denied all her life.
Needless to say, it didn't take long after that for Tokiko to join me in undermining Danjo's plans, using her skills to gather intel on the activities and movements of his loyalists in order to better help Igawa Syuzen prepare the impending rebellion.
Since then, she had quickly risen through the ranks at Gosha Academy, becoming one of the more popular teachers there, mostly by providing a healthy environment for our fellow Fuuma Clansmen to grow without being ostracised too harshly by our peers, whilst also serving as an active Taimanin.
"It's not like I haven't tried, Toki-nee." I reminded her, recalling the few times I'd tried to reach out to Gaiza since the failed coup, only for the cry-baby turned edge-lord to lash out at me, often times backed up by several other members of his clan, especially his mother "He's made his stance on that clear."
"I understand that, I just wish things could've been different." Tokiko sighed, her eyes briefly flashing with the regret at the thought of our childhood innocence (lol) being lost due to Danjo's machinations "In any case, now that you're here, we can finally get started."
"Indeed." a grim voice concurred, drawing our attention to the man that had been silently standing behind the Principal's mahogany desk this entire time, hands clasped behind his back as he turned away from gazing out the window that over-looked the School-yard below "It's been a while, Fuuma Kuroto-kun."
"Yamamoto-san." I greeted, all sense of joviality replaced with seriousness as I stepped out from behind Hebiko, who tactfully retreated to the side-lines along with Tokiko to avoid interrupting the conversation between us "It's good to see you looking well." I continued, offering the man a polite bow.
Understatement of the century right there, as I highly doubted I could have pulled off a suit like that in my old body, which was saying something considering I used to easily have an extra foot on the headmaster at least, even if I was a damn side heavier to compensate.
That, and to be brutally honest, I doubt I would even be standing here right now if it weren't for this man, for while his official position was simply the government appointed principal of Gosha Academy, in actuality he was the village's direct connection to Section 3, meaning he basically ran the show.
A Veteran of the infamous Taiwan Crisis, where he served as a Major in the Maritime SDF, once that conflict was resolved he'd joined the Japanese Ministry's Department of National Affairs and Public Safety, where he would eventually be assigned as Gosha Village's chief liaison to the newly formed Section 3.
It was in this capacity that he basically came in, kicked Danjo off his throne and appointed Syuzen as the new head of Gosha Village. It was also in this capacity that he interceded when the Igawa Elders tried to purge the remaining Fuuma, deeming it to be a useless waste of life now that Danjo was in the wind.
There were some people who claimed that his true motives were to spare the children left behind from retribution, children that he would later come to directly oversee in his capacity as the Headmaster of the newly established Gosha Academy.
Regardless of his motives, there was no denying that Yamamoto Nobushige was the only person in Gosha village who was deemed 'untouchable', not only because of his connections to Section 3, but because he oversaw the operation and management of all Taimanin in Japan.
Put simply, Yamamoto Nobushige was The Boss, and anyone who took issue with that would find it very hard to oppose him, given how he'd dragged the village kicking and screaming out from the dark ages under the Fuuma and into the current era of productivity we currently enjoyed.
"You've certainly come a long way from that day." He noted, his black, hawk-like eyes taking me in without revealing his true emotions, though I got the strangest feeling he seemed almost relieved by what he saw if the slight relaxation of his shoulders were any indication "I almost didn't recognise you."
"The benefits of being allowed to spread my wings outside the gilded cage." I quipped with an honest smile, or as honest as I could manage at the moment "To be fair, the last time we saw each other, I was seconds away from being decapitated."
"You may be Danjo's heir, but that does not mean the Igawa had any right to take their grievances out on you." Yamamoto declared, his expression like stone as he regarded me solemnly "Since they apparently forgot who it was who provided them with warning of Danjo's coup, I deemed it necessary to intervene."
"You won't see me complaining." I concurred, earning a titter from Hebiko and an amused sigh from Tokiko in the background "And while I'm certain the others will feel the same eventually, I'm sure you didn't bring me here just to reminisce."
"Indeed." Yamamoto confirmed, the older man turning on his heel and taking a seat behind his desk, hands clasped before him in the infamous Gendo-pose as he waited for the three of us to take our seats "Tell me, Kuroto-kun, how familiar are you with Kuoh-Town?"
Now there was a loaded question, and yet another example of the bullshit powers R. had at their disposal if they were able to combine two entirely different worlds together. For you see, while I was only loosely familiar with the lore of Taimanin Asagi, I was intimately familiar with the importance of Kuoh Town.
"That's the place where two of the New Satans' younger sisters have decided to set up shop, right?" I recounted, earning a nod from Yamamoto and a sigh of relief from Tokiko "I thought the Japanese Government had declared the place off-limits to avoid pissing off the Crimson Satan?"
Yet another understatement of the century. For you see, while Japan was no stranger to the 'Moonlit world', the Non-Interference Pact only covered local entities, so Western Devils like Sona Sitri & Rias Gremory were technically considered in violation of the agreement and thus targets for extermination by Taimanin.
Unfortunately, for us that is, the heiresses were virtually untouchable, not through any merit of their own, but by the simple facts that they were the younger siblings of two of the new Satans, the leaders of the Devil Faction, one of whom just so happened to be the strongest Super Devil in existence.
While there wasn't a Taimanin alive who had seen Sirzechs Lucifer in action, at least on paper, there were enough records from the 'Devil Civil War' era highlighting how much of a monster he was. And since Devils only grew more powerful as time passed, it was no surprise nobody wanted to piss off the aptly named Crimson Satan.
"Officially, yes." a grim-faced Yamamoto confirmed, looking like he'd sucked a lemon "However, while we cannot actively move against them, that doesn't mean we cannot leave them unattended, especially after that debacle with the church nine years ago."
He was of course referring to the incident where the previous overseer of Kuoh Town, Cleria Belial, made the textbook mistake of mistaking real-life for a Disney movie, falling in love with a Human Exorcist from the Japanese Branch of the Catholic Church, only for the pair of them to be summarily executed by his comrades for Heresy.
Needless to say, neither Cleria's presence in Kuoh Town, nor the actions of the church to remove her, had been sanctioned by the Japanese Government. This, combined with Clan Belial's disgust at her fraternizing with a human, was the only reason the situation didn't devolve into outright war with the Devils.
However, we would not be so lucky this time, for while the Government had moved to limit the church's influence over Kuoh, it was well-established even outside Devil Society that the Heiresses' elder siblings were massive sis-cons who would happily end the world for making their baby sister's cry.
"Our original intention was to have one of our agents infiltrate the academy to monitor the Heiresses activities." Yamamoto continued, his expression growing troubled, what little of it I could make out past the man's poker-face "However, as she has yet to contact us, she is currently considered to be MIA."
"You're talking about Shiranui-sensei." I deduced, grimacing at Hebiko's distressed gasp and the troubled expression of Tokiko's face, as the two of them had been rather fond of the older Taimanin, Hebiko even being friends with her daughter, Yukikaze "Has there been no trace of her whatsoever?"
Shiranui Mizuki was a veteran Taimanin, considered by many to be the Ideal Taimanin, her strength such that even Asagi had begrudgingly declared them to be rivals, constantly challenging the older Taimanin to duels that she would inevitably lose, a fact Shiranui humoured with the patience only a mother could have.
Having married young, as was common at the time, Mizuki had briefly retired from active service in order to raise her daughter, becoming arguably the most popular teacher at Gosha Academy due to her kind, motherly ways and mature charm...which was simply a nice way of calling her a total MILF.
However, three years ago she went off on a mission without any backup, which wasn't that unusual given her reputation, only to seemingly vanish into thin-air, the recovery team sent to assist her unable to find a trace of her nor her mission objective, whatever the hell it was.
While she had yet to be officially declared dead, her simply being MIA had a demoralizing effect on the village as a whole, and her family in particular. While I personally didn't care much for Yukikaze, due in part to the girl's clear dislike of me, I couldn't help but pity her for the loss of such a wonderful mother.
"So what does this have to do with me?" I pressed, deciding it was best to steer the conversation back on track before we got side-tracked "I mean, it's not like I can infiltrate the Academy to spy on them. I may not be the best example of my gender, but I am a man after all."
"Fortunately, that won't be an issue." Yamamoto assured me, not even bothering to counter my self-mocking assessment of my appearance as he handed a folder to Tokiko, who proceeded to pass it over to me "It would appear that the Chairman of Kuoh has decided to change the school into a Co-ED establishment."
"The Chairman...isn't that the current Duke Gremory?" I mused, glancing over the file, which included a picture of a handsome redhead with a well-trimmed goatee who was giving me serious 'Call me Daddy' vibes "Can't imagine he doesn't have an ulterior motive for this."
"Most likely he's hoping to provide a larger pool for his daughter to select members of her Peerage from." Yamamoto deduced, the air in the room turning decidedly chilly, Tokiko and Hebiko scowling at the use of the word "We've managed to confirm that the Sitri heiress has bolstered her ranks already."
"Any Sacred Gear users among them?" I pressed, feigning ignorance, for I knew damn well that the only natural Sacred Gear users Sona had access to were Tsubaki and Saji. The rest of the Student council wouldn't receive their Artificial Gears from Azazel until much later.
"So far we've only been able to identify one: Her Queen, Shina Tsubaki." Yamamoto confirmed with a grim nod "However, given how calculating the Sitri heiress is, I wouldn't be surprised if she selected individuals for their talents regardless of whether they possessed a Sacred Gear or not."
'Well, he's not wrong.' I mused, knowing full well that unlike Rias, who despite seeking to use a rating game to escape her engagement, did little to actually prepare her peerage, whereas Sona had hers running like a well-oiled machine long before their official debut "Still, why me? It can't just be my age, right?"
"No, even among your peers, there are countless other young men I could have deployed." Yamamoto confirmed with a nod "No, the reason I chose you for this mission is two-fold. First and foremost being that your ability will prove useful in keeping any more Sacred Gears out of their clutches."
"Well...at least it's good for something." I scoffed, shaking my head self-mockingly, ignoring the concerned looks sent my way by Hebiko & Tokiko in favour of looking Yamamoto in the eye "And the second reason?"
"The second reason, is to get you as far away from the Igawa clan as possible." Yamamoto confessed, his stern visage softening ever so slightly in the face of my surprise "I read the report on the Izumo Incident. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how annoyed the Igawa Elders are with you right now."
"Kuro-chan did nothing wrong!" Hebiko protested, the adorable ball of Takoyaki pouting petulantly as she stamped her foot for emphasis "If it wasn't for him then Tsuru-chan might still be..." she trailed off, as if suddenly realising what she was implying "S-she might be...!"
"It's okay, Hebiko." I assured her, offering the girl a comforting smile as she trailed off into sniffles, a smiling Tokiko crossing over to give her a reassuring hug "I'm actually surprised it took them this long to try something after I aired their dirty laundry."
"The Elders aren't so stupid as to seek vengeance for the death of a serial killer." Yamamoto countered with a dismissive grunt "However, the fact remains he was a well-respected member of their faction prior to your revealing his true colours, so having you assigned to this mission should give them time to cool-off."
"I doubt that, but hell if I'm going to turn down a free vacation." I quipped, earning a sigh from the ladies and a quirked brow from Yamamoto at my cavalier response "So I'm guessing I'll be assigned to a team then? Will I get to pick the members?"
"All the details of the mission are included in this dossier." Yamamoto instructed, sliding a sealed envelope across the table to me "While your primary objective is to monitor the heiresses, you are to prioritise the safety of the town residents whilst ensuring no Sacred Gears fall into Devil hands."
"So much for a vacation." I sighed, accepting the envelope with feigned disappointment, as in all honesty I was chomping at the bit to get away from Gosha if it meant getting to dick around with the plot of DxD "Never thought I ever say this but:" I snapped off a salute "19th Generation Fuuma Kotaro, reporting for duty!"
And I'll just leave off there for now.
So yeah, a few familiar faces to whet your appetite, as they won't be showing up again until we resolve at least part of the plot of DxD.
As some of you may have guessed, most of this worldline is inspired by Taimanin Asagi Zero, where most of the cast are teenagers, bar a few exceptions.
And for the sharp-eyed out there, we finally have a reason for why Kuroto allowed Raynare to kill Issei! To keep the Boosted Gear away from Rias.
Now, some context for that last line: The Fuuma clan have a tradition where the Patriarch takes on the title of 'Fuuma Kotaro', this holds true even for Danjo, who was the previous Patriarch, and thus the Previous Generation/Sendai Fuuma Kotaro.
As for why Kuroto is referring to himself as the '19th Generation' specifically, it has to do with the timeline this fic is set-in, as well as subtle reference to the Netflix Show: 'House of Ninja'.
Originally, DxD was set roughly around 2010, however with the re-boot of 'Slash/Dog' this has been changed to 2018. House of Ninja take place roughly in 2024, but a major event involving the main antagonist, 'Fuuma Kotaro the 19th', took place 6 years prior in 2018.
Again, I won't be updating this as regularly because of work, but at the very least I intend to get as far as I can with this one before life drags me away.
Next time, the story picks up where the prologue left off, with Raynare finally reaching her happy end...sort of.